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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Using WSPR for some band analysis

My wet noodle on 40m WSPR on Dec 30 2200 UTC

30m results at 2100 UTC Dec 30th

Over the holidays I was able to get some time to activate WSPR (at 5 watts) using WSJT-X version 1.6 the latest version which now includes WSPR. I wanted to investigate band activity with relation to UTC time from my QTH using my MFJ 1788 loop from the balcony. I started WSPRing on Dec 30th on bands I thought to be the "good" bands such as 15, 17 and 20m. From the UTC times of 1600 to 2200 I netted zero results on these bands!! It could had been due to poor propagation on these bands as I had very poor results. 30m was my best band of all the test bands for that day. I did confirm that my MFJ loop is just a wet noodle on 40m as I was only spotted by two very local stations on a band that seemed very busy.

17m from 1500-1550 UTC Dec 31

I was on again on Dec 31 testing to see how the propagation gods were treating me that day. It turned out that my faith in 17m and 20m was uplifted a bit with some decent results. and once again 30m seemed to be consistent. It would seem from my limited testing that 30m is the band for me to go to on evenings when I get in from work. Also 20m but it may be more hit and miss. During the day on weekends 17 and 20m seem to be a charm. But then again there is always propagation that plays into the numbers and then just good old luck. I try not to just play these numbers games all the time. In the past (as I am sure most reading this post also have had it happen) there has been times when a band should be shut down and I make an amazing contact against all the odds.

2 comments:

Hello Dave, Happy New Year for you and Julie.I have the same results with my 15 inch Cylinder dipole at 40 m. At 4 m above ground, I could only work two nearby stations on 40 m. PA and ON. Because of the low height, the signals go UP. 73, Bert

Good evening Bert, my loop is about 60 feet up on my balcony but I guess the concrete floor being so close to the loop does not help either. Oh well I will just have to do without 40m. Have a great week Bert. 73, Mike

About Me

I've been a ham radio operator since 1989 my interests in ham radio vary from contesting, low power operation (know as QRP) and building Elecraft radios. In the last 4 years my interest in kit building has taken off. I have built the Elecraft KX1,K2 and the KX3. Some other kits include the LP-Pan,LP-100,4SQRPometer..and the list goes on. I hope you enjoy your stop at my blog and find it informative. Feel free to leave a comment!
73(72)
Mike